China film fests announce entrants

Roosters admitting non-mainland contestants

SHANGHAI — China’s awards season is heating up, with entrants announced for both the mainland’s China Golden Rooster and Hundred Flowers Film Festival, and Taiwan’s Golden Horse Awards, both set for November.

The 25th Golden Roosters (Nov. 9-12), which have traditionally been open only to mainland filmmakers in the individual categories (actor, actress, director), is for the first time admitting contestants from Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan.

Hong Kong star Jackie Chan will be the first non-mainland Chinese to compete in the actor category for his role in “New Police Story,” which also is up for feature.

The Golden Roosters will be held this year in Sanya, the capital of southern China’s Hainan Province, also home to recent editions of the Miss World competition.

The 42nd annual Taipei Golden Horse Awards (Nov. 4-17) this year will kick off with Zhang Ziyi starrer “Princess Raccoon” from Japanese director Suzuki Seijun.

In the main competition, 56 feature films compete for top prizes. There are also sections for short films, animations and documentaries.

Hong Kong star Andy Lau looks stands a good chance of taking home an acting gong, with four of his films in the competition list: “A World Without Thieves,” “All About Love,” “Yesterday Once More” and “Wait Till You’re Older.”